Tips To Get Admission Into Top B-Schools

For any MBA aspirant, it is a dream to get admission into a top B-school.

What is a B-school you ask? Well, it is short for business schools. Life in a B-school move in a fast forward mode. In addition, classes, assignments, projects, presentations, games, fun, choice of electives, summer internship and many other things comprise life at a business school.

For instance, some famous B-schools are IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Lucknow, IIM-Indore, FMS-Delhi, INDIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS – [ISB], HYDERABAD, XAVIER LABOUR RELATIONS INSTITUTE – [XLRI], JAMSHEDPUR.

The best MBA B-schools require almost perfect scores in the CAT exam. It is advisable to start your preparation 6 to 8 months prior to the examination. This will give you enough time to master your strong traits and overcome your weaknesses.

How can I increase my chances of getting into a good MBA college?

The most important factor which plays an important role in the preparation for any entrance examination is the “never say no attitude.” It is essential to have a positive attitude. Being a focused and hardworking candidate also helps when preparing for the examination. Confidence is the key to success. To achieve any goal you must be a go-getter!

Since MBA entrance examinations such as CAT are very competitive, most students need and seek professional guidance. While a majority of students opt for traditional CAT coaching, a small percentage opts for correspondence courses or smaller variants of the traditional CAT coaching such as National Level Mock CAT Series or Personal Interview Preparation.

One can also opt to prepare for the examination on their own. Home tuitions are also available as per your convenience. A few aspirants think that in a group you might not get as much attention as in a separate one to one tuition. For such people, it is better to opt for home tuitions.

It is important to know your strong and weak points. One can make use of the SWOT analysis technique. This means analyzing your strengths (s) and weaknesses (W) as well as the opportunities (O) and threats (T) that are present for you. By focusing on your strengths, and minimizing the impact of your weaknesses, you can take the greatest advantage of opportunities available to you, while averting the threats that otherwise go unnoticed. SWOT is a powerful tool for assessment, analysis and as the first step to improvement for organizations and teams as well as individuals.

Taking mock tests is very important to score well in the main exam. It helps a person to find out the areas in which they lack and to improve those areas. Not only this, it will boost your confidence if you can score well in your mock tests. Even if you don’t, do not get disheartened. Face your problems and work towards them for a better output. It is a good practice to join a mock test series online. This way you will get enough practice and will be more comfortable when attempting for your final test. There are many online mock-up test series. Search and choose wisely to get the best benefits from them.

The entrance exams for top B-schools are very difficult to crack. A person is judged on his quantitative ability, data interpretation skills, logical reasoning, and verbal ability. It is necessary to have a good command over the English language. To improve your skills in English one can inculcate reading habits. Read magazines or books of your choice as well as stress on the books related to general knowledge and current affairs. Reading newspapers is a must. To improve spoken ability, you can watch English news channels and movies. Watch famous talk shows to improve diction and practice a lot. Communicate in English with your friends and family.

Aspirants are judged on their ability to think logically and also mathematics. As you already know, maths is all about practice. So work hard and improve as much as you can. To develop your logical skills, solve puzzles and various crosswords and other games which help in improving your chances of scoring well.

After the online entrance exam, you get a call from the B-schools depending upon how well you score. Also, a session of group discussion and personal interview are conducted to judge the candidate’s potential and knowledge. So one must be prepared accordingly. The topic of group discussion can be related to anything so you must have good knowledge in general.

For a group discussion, it is important to make your presence felt and to get noticed by the observer or moderator. While one is interacting in a GD, his or her interactive skills are put to test. Your communication should be simple and clear. You must be interactive in your session. Try and involve the whole group instead of interacting with only two or three people. Make valid points. Use reasoning methods to put across your points. Do not engage in derogatory or oppressive language. Be aware throughout your GD. Demonstrate leadership qualities by taking an initiative to start the discussion. This gives you a good chance of making a good impression by putting forth a valid point.

Personal interviews are carried out. To prepare for them, practice in front of a mirror. Speak eloquently but do not ramble. Brush up your grammar and speak precisely. There is always a certainty that a few questions are always asked in a PI. Prepare yourself for such questions and plan out your answers beforehand. Be polite and calm. Your attire should be formal for the interview.

Preparing for an MBA entrance exam is not a piece of cake. You need to work very hard and be consistent. Don’t ever lose hope and be sincere and focused in your efforts. Don’t pollute your mind with unnecessary or negative thoughts. Minimize your distractions like watching movies or TV. Stay focussed on CAT as your main goal. Also, take enough breaks while studying, go out, exercise, meet people, do things that refresh your mind, not stress it. And remember your goal: Increase speed, reduce errors. On the exam day, don’t panic and give it your best shot as you would have done in any mock. Don’t fret on how easy or difficult the exam maybe, just ensure you score in what you are able to, concentrate on accuracy rather the overall attempts. This way nobody can stop you from scoring well and getting into a good B-school.